Clutch



sept 18, 1923.

H. D. GRINNELL.

CLUTCH Filed May 17I 1922 lll 'lll/lll HAROLD D. ennuient, orriTTSrriaLn, ifiASsAoiiUSnTTs, assitance To THE e. jo. A. MANUrAoTUaInGcoi/irAnY, er riTTsrinLn, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OrMA.ssAcifiUsnfivrs.' Y

'. i Application ined may i?,

of vPittsfield, in. t-he county of Berkshire' and State ofMassachusetts, haveinvented an Improvement in Clutches, ofzwhichthefollowing description, in connection'wvith the accompanying' 'drayvings,is a specification, likecharacters on the-.drawings representinglikeparts.- i r This invention vrelates to an improved clutch or chuck,the object thereof being to provide a frictional, selfnadjusting deviceof thisclass designed for application to bodies having a circularv or`curvilinear outline in cross section. While the invention is notrestricted in its'application to `any particu i the same on the line2-j2 of Fig, l;

lar art 0r arts end With obviousmodica-- tions m-ay beadapted to agreatvariety of uses, as, for example, to lathes and drills, the particularembodiment herein shown is designed more particularly with referenceVto\ its applicationito electric lamp bulb installing and removingdevices rwherein my invention is employed las anianuallyoperated clutchmedium ifor `gripping the lamp bulb. Y y f -1 Referring to theaccompanying drawings illustrating a preferred formof embodiment of myinvention: i.

' F ig. lis aside elevation showing the device applied to an electriclamp bulb;

Fig. 2, a longitudinal vertical section of f Fig. '3, a cross-sectionaltop vievvv on line andi Y Y.' .1 -F`ig.4', a vievwsimilar to Fig. 3illustrating my device as applied toa lamp bulb of irregular orelliptical outline. .lV

y invention comprises arecessed or holloW receptacle or barrel l,providing an interiorchamber 2 enclosed by substantially straight,smooth,.and uniformly `inc lined 'side Walls assuming the formation ofan in vert-ed frustum round. in outline,the larger or receiving end-beingopen The chamber 2 is consequently gradually reduced in cross-.sectional area from top to bottom, the object thereof being toproportionately increase the grip or pressure of the Walls upon theengaged surface of-the object or Work; introduced therein as such.object or 'work advancesinward under pressure of the operator Vor otherseatingforc'e.

e Y -maining constant.

the

. 'clesigned to be applied. These side Walls :ofthe receptacle lmare 'lCLUTCH.

designed to be flexible but ineXpansible and may .be Yformed of paper,pressed fibre or other material havingjtlie requisite properties ashereindisclosed, so as to conform to the outline ofthe foreign Objectftothe ex-v ftent of their fixed circumferential measure at any givenelevation in their length, but Vnot'to stretch orleXpand. When, for eX#ample, the contour of the foreign object is irregularor elliptical incross section, as illustrated in Fig. 4, the outline of the receptacleVis modied by the introduction of suchV object to measurably conformthereto, being temporarily distorted from its true circular formation inthe plane of contact' and adapted to resume its normal outline when theobject is removed. This property of flexibility increases the extent ofthe actually engaged portion of the surface of the Work. ln a device ofsimilar' formation Vhaving slotted side Walls or Walls constructed ofrubber or other yielding or expansible .materiah the distortion Wouldresult in localized stretching or stressing of its `Walls at the pointor points of irregularity in the object, Whereas in the present devicedistortion 4at any given point involves distortion of the entire contourofthe circumfer- Yence of the Walls in the plane affected and Where anyincrease of pressure .resulting therefrom is distributed evenly over allpoints in the circumference, the actual measurement of the circumferencevhowever re- `While the receptacle l `of theinvention hereinillustra-ted is provided With a smooth interior surface, it is obviousthat the functional characteristics and objects ofthe structuredescribed, may be retained in a receptacle'having afmodified interiorsurface, which may be corrugated or otherwise rougheiied for adaptationto particular classes of objects. It should also be pointed out that itis not in all instances necessarily essential to the operation Vof mydevice that the central longitudinal line ofthe object should 'beadjusted in true-alignment with the axis .of my device, but in practicethe object may in frequent 4instances assume a `somewhat tilted orrelatively inclined posilOO tion, as, foreXample, in the case ofelectric lamp bulbs, to Tivhich the present embodiment was particularlybut not exclusively The receptacle l is mounted upon asuit- "eatcapacity a able carrier 3, the form of which may b e modified to conformto the mandrel, shaft or other support to which it is attached. Asherein shown, the carrier 3 is a circular transversely arranged memberconstructed of Wood or other suitable material closingY the inner orsmall end of the receptacle and provided centrally with a recess el,adapted to receive the nipple 5 of a lamp bulb 11, and `also provided ator near-its 'margin uiteen@ ,101* v1411er@ transverse :Openings 12,12,

which serve as air vents. Depending centrally from the carrierandpreterablyinte- `gral therewith 'is a stem 13 ineased in a `metalbushing'll having tapering side Walls.

"The receptacle 1 may Vbe secured in any suitable manner to the carrier3, the .means herein shown being aclanip G constructed of stiff Vhailingwire surrounding the receptacle at a point near its loiver end, the later being forced 'into a suitable annular groove provided on the surfaceof the carrier and forming a permanent seat "for .the aan,

in' present .embodiment my device is detacljiably mounted to rotate upona turning erod or spindle 7 carrying fat its `outer end a`socket-meinber or false chuck 8 provided v vith an axial bore-toreceive the spindie and removably secured ythereto Aby a set serew 9extending through a suitable threaded opening provided in its side Walland,

ders suliicient resistance to prevent dis placement ot the clutch ortheirrela-tive ,movement during rotation, 'preter to pro- 'aucijli rypositive 'latch'i'ng means of a suitable and'convenient characten'suehas a pressfbutton 15 mounted to slid-e in a tubulari casing 1 6 fittedinto asuitable transverse recessor'o`peni11g in lthe side of the stein13, said press-'button beingactuated normally Voutwardunder the pressureot aneXpa-nsion' spring 17 and adapted to register with 'co4 incidentopenings in the *bushing 14 and socketmember 8.

"It should be vunderstood that a .series `of Gleiches, .each having f1-rertad@ Of differaptedto receive an object of corresponding ,imensions,butseverally provided with carriers having `like-sized stein ,por ions,n 1 ay be employed for attachment Ito thefjlfalse chuck '8. In theadaptati ,tioularelass `of objects herein shown, namely 'to incandescentlampbulbs 11, the size of onofiny device tothe paraV the clutc-l'iselected is obviously ldetermined by the genera-l contour andproportions vof the lampV upon `which it is designed to operate, theVclutch being monnted pose, upon a spindle or rod 7 of indefinite forthis pLir-g 'in l length adapted to install and remove lamps placedbeyond the reach of the operator. rl"he side Walls ot the clutch whenforced over the 'bulblexert the requisite gripping action necessary 'toenable the operator to install orremove the lamp froinits soclretV "byrotating thespindle.

Tt will be apparent that obvious modifications may be inane to thefornaci' myA device Y scope ot the invention.A Vlclaiinasmyrinventionz,v

1 In a clutch, afbody havingl flexible endless side Wal'ls and arustoronical receiving chamber, said side v vallsbeing effectiveV4todistribute localized stresses throughout its circumference wvithoutenlargi ng measure of the circu'ilnference.` 7 VE2. In a device of theclass Vdescribed,-in

combination, a support and a Work-greceiving portion havingthe-formation of a l:trustum and provided Witlran-interior chamber,

herein shoivn Without departing from the fthe 'I the side walls of thework-receiving portion being flexible and inexpansible.

3. In a dev and ahollovv Work-receiving portion ca-rried by saidsupporteengagingpontion and having la conicalormation andanopenreceivirlg end, said sidewalls being constructd ed offlexibleineiqjansiblesubstance.v i

t. In a device of the c lass described, 'in combination, asupport-engaging portion and a Work-receivingportion havingfstraightsloping side Walls and `'having an open re-l ceiving end, the said `sideival'lsbeing flexible and inexpansibl'e;

5. 11n-device o combination, acari-ier, a dependingexteir sion memberonthe carrier,a A barrel mount' ed on the carrier, and securing means,said barrelhaving a con-ical Vformation ivi-th endless -flexible'sideWalls andan open receiving end. A

6. ln a clutch, in combination, a carrier having a tapering stein membertor detachlable 'connection lwith asupp0rt, and "a hollovv conical Vbodymounted onthe carrier-and "havingdlexible inexpansible side Walls and anopen receiving end` f f l-*In a device of mounted on ene `eil-dof thespindle and having an open receiving end, and a carrier `havinga"circular body-portion `and a stem ce of the class described, in icombination,V a support-engaging port1on,.

Vthe vclass described, in "combination, 4a spindle, a. socket member fthe class described, in 1,

xmember depc-xnding `frointhe Vb'odypor-tion f and adapted to vlit intesaidrecess in the socket-member, said carrier having iiexible extending.above the carrier,V

inexpansible side Wall-s forming a frustrum Y 8. In a device of theclass described, in combination, asupport, a clutch of frustoconical`formation movably mounted on the support and having a hollow,V,receiving chamber and an open receiving end, said chamber havingVflexible endless side Walls, and means for imparting rotary andVreciprocating movements to the clutch.

9i In a device of the class described, in combination, a Spindle havinga head with an open receiving end, a carrier having a stemA memberextending into said head, locking means for detachably1 securing thecarrier to said Ahead, and a clutch member on said carrier.

l0. In a clutch, in combination, a perforate carrier Vand a clutch;member mounted HAROLD D. GRINN ELL.

